Gadwal sees surge in unanimous panchayat auctions
TELANGANA: Unanimous elections continue to rise across several mandals as panchayat posts are being decided through informal auctions despite warnings from the State Election Commission.
Villages opt for auctions over campaign spending
Local groups argue that holding village level auctions is preferable to spending on cash and liquor distribution during competitive polls. On the first day of nominations, four gram panchayats in Gadwal district reported unanimous elections, followed by 12 more on the second day.
In Gattu mandal’s Mittadoddi, a contestant secured the sarpanch post for ₹90 lakh. In Penchikalapadu, the sarpanch and Deputy Sarpanch posts together fetched ₹40.5 lakh. Aragidda recorded ₹31 lakh, Tummalapalli ₹30 lakh, Muchchonipalli ₹16 lakh and Tarapuram ₹16 lakh. Gadwal mandal’s Veerapuram sarpanch post was decided for ₹50 lakh, while Kurvapalli settled at ₹45 lakh, Edigonipalli at ₹10 lakh and Puttanpalli at ₹15 lakh.
Auctions continue across multiple mandals
In K.T. Doddi mandal’s Sultanapuram, the sarpanch post was decided for ₹8 lakh. In Dharur mandal’s Kothapalem, it went for ₹26.5 lakh. Before the second phase notification, Aiza mandal’s Edigonipalli saw the post secured for ₹7.5 lakh, while Kisshapuram recorded ₹10.5 lakh.
In Maldakal mandal’s Saddalonipalli, villagers allotted the sarpanch post to a resident who had donated two acres for the crematorium. Several organisations, including the Vigilance Forum and Local Governments Empowerment Forum, demanded that forced unanimous elections be cancelled. Forum conveners V V Rao and Bandaru Rammohan, joined by Sarpanchs’ Forum president Yadayya Goud, told reporters that former sarpanches had taken loans for development works and sought immediate clearance of pending bills.
Unanimity tied to temple construction in Nalgonda, Khammam
In Narketpally mandal’s Dasarigudem in Nalgonda district, villagers resolved to elect a unanimous panel—sarpanch, Deputy Sarpanch and ward members on the condition that they build a Rama temple and take up local development works. Uppula Venkat Reddy was selected as sarpanch, while Polagoni Jyothi Srinubabu was chosen as Deputy Sarpanch.
In Khammam district’s Kamepalli mandal, Joggudem residents conducted an auction for the sarpanch post and decided to use the money for constructing an Anjaneya Swamy temple. Bhukya Saidamma secured the post for ₹20 lakh, which she agreed to hand over to village elders at the time of filing her nomination.
Nomination filing sees unusual incidents
In Karimnagar district’s Gangadhara mandal, Lakshmidevipalli sarpanch aspirant Jangili Mahender submitted his ₹1,000 nomination fee entirely in one-rupee coins, causing staff considerable effort to count. Mahender had earlier lost a ward member election by one vote.
Former Maoist enters the fray
In Rajanna-Sircilla district’s Konaraopet mandal, Shivangalapalli saw a former woman Maoist, Neralalla Jyoti alias Jyothakka, file her nomination for sarpanch. She had worked as a dalam commander in the Dandakaranya region for nearly two decades before joining mainstream life ahead of the 2023 Assembly elections, eventually entering the Bharat Rashtra Samithi.
Strong nomination turnout in first phase
Across 189 mandals going to polls in the first phase, 4,236 sarpanch positions drew 8,198 nominations within two days—3,297 on the first day and 4,901 on Friday. Saturday is the last day for filing nominations for the first-phase elections scheduled for September 11. The Election Commission said 11,502 nominations were filed for 37,440 ward member posts as of Friday.
